Flight to Istanbul

I departed Seattle right on time at 6:30 Friday morning. Four hours later, we landed at New York JFK. Congestion was less than normal and it only took 20 minutes to get to the gate and off the plane. I had two hours in the Delta club lounge to do e-mail and stretch my legs, before boarding my flight to Istanbul. Even though the plane was nearly full, I was able to move to a seat that had an empty space in the middle. We left the gate at 5 p.m. And took off at 6. Someplace over Maine, they started serving a light dinner. As we passed over Halifax, lights were turned off and everybody settled down for the rest of the nine hour trip. About an hour from landing and somewhere over Romania, an egg crousant breakfast was served. The 767 landed in Istanbul about 15 minutes early. It was now 10 a.m. Saturday morning.

After getting off the plane, we walked down the long hallways to passport control. But first, I had to stand in the short line to obtain a Turkish Visa. (20 USD cash and a “thank you” smile) As I went through passport control, he asked me to remove my hat to see that I matched the photo, then gave the page a vigorous stamp of authorized entry. I walked the short distance to baggage claim and then out the “nothing to declare” exit. Unlike Montreal, the overseas terminal was not crowded and the signage was easy to understand. I went to the Bankomat machine to get some local currency and then followed the signs to the Metro. There I purchased some tokens from the vending machine and entered the station. The train into town was about to leave, so I walked on and took a seat. It was not too crowded.

If I stayed on the train, I would end up a considerable distance from my hotel, so halfway there, I transferred to the tram line. It was very crowded. I got off at the Gulhane stop in the middle of old town and walked the short distance to my hotel. I chose the Modern Sultan Hotel, a 6-8 room place in the middle of old town and run by a Canadian family. Since I was quite early, my room was not yet ready. So I left my bags at the hotel and wandered around the area a bit. The Istanbul weather is much like Seattle - breezy, cool, and cloudy. I did not bring a jacket, so I walked briskly. During my short outing, I was befriended by three different guys, all professing to have lived in the US and offering to show me the carpet shop run by their brother/father/uncle. I returned to the hotel about 1 p.m. and checked into my tiny little room (but only 45 euro per night). I had a nice 4-hour nap.